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Drone Prathap (Bigg Boss Kannada 10) Biography: Age, Career, Family &

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 4, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth15 June 1998

Age25 Years (as of 2023)

BirthplaceNetkal village, Malavalli taluka, Mandya district, Karnataka, India

ProfessionScientist; Businessman

NationalityIndian

Marital statusUnmarried

FamilyFather - Marimaddaiah; Mother - Savita

Drone Prathap (Bigg Boss Kannada 10) Biography

Indian drone builder and entrepreneur Prathap N M, popularly known as Drone Prathap, rose from a rural background in Mandya, Karnataka to build a career as

Early life and background

Prathap N M was born on 15 June 1998 in Netkal village in Malavalli taluka of Mandya district, Karnataka. Raised in an agricultural family, his father Marimaddaiah worked as a farmer and his mother Savita was a homemaker. Financial constraints shaped his upbringing: he began helping on the family farm as a child and left home to pursue higher education with limited resources.

Prathap completed a Bachelor of Science degree at JSS College of Arts and Commerce, Mysore. During his student years he supported himself through tuition work and other small jobs, at times enduring periods of hardship such as sleeping at bus stands and skipping meals in order to fund parts for his projects. He taught himself through whatever access to information he could secure, including working in a cyber café in exchange for internet time.

Career

Prathap developed an early interest in flight after seeing a drone on television in class 10. With little money for new components, he sourced electronic waste parts and taught himself the basics of building unmanned aerial vehicles. After many experiments and iterative trials, one of his homemade drones achieved a flight of 1,000 metres.

His first notable competitive success came at age 16 when he won second prize in a drone model competition at IIT Delhi. That exposure helped open opportunities abroad. With financial help from his college and teachers, he attended the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo in 2017, where he presented a drone made from e-waste and was selected among the top teams, earning a gold medal at the event.

Prathap went on to establish Dronark Aerospace, where he has been identified as founder and CEO. He has built hundreds of drones using recycled electronic components, and he invested prize money from competitions into creating an aerospace lab in Bengaluru to continue developing improved drone designs.

In 2018 he participated in an international event in Hanover, Germany. His work has drawn invitations and recognition, and he has travelled internationally to present on drone applications. He has also deployed drones for humanitarian purposes: in 2019 his technology assisted relief operations during floods in southern Karnataka, helping authorities assess situations and deliver aid.

Public profile

Prathap is publicly known by the nickname Drone Prathap or Drone Scientist. He is listed as unmarried and practices Hinduism. Physically, he is reported to be approximately 173 cm (5'8") tall with black hair and black eyes. His ethnicity is recorded as Kannadiga and his hometown as Mandya, Karnataka.

Alongside achievements, Prathap’s public life has included controversies that received media attention. In July 2020, authorities in Bengaluru detained him for breaching quarantine directives after travel. Separately, questions have been raised in media reports about certain award claims and presentations; those matters were widely reported in the press.

Prathap has said he was motivated by figures such as APJ Abdul Kalam and has credited teachers and peers who supported his early efforts. He remains a figure who transitioned from modest beginnings and self-directed learning to leading a small aerospace venture focused on practical drone applications.

Latest updates

In 2023 Prathap appeared as a contestant on Bigg Boss Kannada Season 10. His public appearances and projects continue to bring attention to his work building drones from recycled electronics and applying that work to emergency response and demonstrations.
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Recent Work

Bigg Boss Kannada Season 10

Contestant on the 2023 season of the Kannada reality television show.

2023
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Career Highlights

  1. Built more than 600 drones using electronic waste and employed them for relief and social causes
  2. Founder and CEO of Dronark Aerospace
  3. Gold medal at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo (2017)
  4. Participated in the International Drone Expo in Hanover (2018)
  5. Deployed drones for flood relief operations in Karnataka (2019)
  6. Established an aerospace lab in Bengaluru using competition prize funds
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Drone Prathap (Bigg Boss Kannada 10) born?

15 June 1998

What is Drone Prathap (Bigg Boss Kannada 10) known for?

Scientist; Businessman

What is Drone Prathap (Bigg Boss Kannada 10)’s marital status?

Unmarried